


Simple Happiness

by kotaka_kun



Series: indulgence AU [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Domestic Bliss, Established Relationship, Fluff, Living Together, M/M, Modern AU, allusions to zuko's childhood, and the neglect and abuse he faced, finding happiness in the little things, my adhd doesn't believe in clearcut povs oops, rated M mostly for language and implied sex, zuko learns to chill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kotaka_kun/pseuds/kotaka_kun
Summary: In which Sokka sees how strict Zuko is with himself, and shows him that his happiness doesn’t have to be put on the back burner anymore and that though they may seem like luxuries to him, Zuko is in fact allowed simple happiness, in whatever form that may take.(Or, Zuko learns a thing or two about how to chill.)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: indulgence AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823707
Comments: 78
Kudos: 922





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> based off of a convo I had with [beta-san](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RollingWings) who is incidentally the person that made me want to watch atla to begin with

Zuko watches the cashier slide the last of their groceries across the scanner, but before he can look down at his wallet to pay, he sees something that he hadn’t put in the cart -- and something that  _ definitely  _ was not on their shopping list -- slide across, and he looks over at Sokka sharply. 

Sokka was already looking at Zuko expectantly, eyes bright and smile wide, and on just this side of pleading. 

“I promise I’ll share ‘em this time.” Sokka says, and it’s all Zuko can do to fix his boyfriend with a skeptical look. 

“That’s what you said last time.” he huffs, though he doesn’t make any further complaints. He pays, thanks the cashier as he hands them their bags, and heads towards the exit. 

He doesn’t actually mind if Sokka shares or not; he knows that Sokka likes to treat himself to sweets and candy, and the pleased look on Sokka’s face is well worth an extra dollar or two on the receipt. 

Of course, by the time they get to the car, Sokka already has the bag of M&M’s open and is popping them in his mouth several at a time. 

Zuko doesn’t even have to say anything though, because Sokka hands him the half-empty bag as they get the groceries loaded into the car. Zuko makes sure that Sokka sees how unimpressed he is as he climbs into the passenger seat, but he can’t help but smirk when Sokka gives him the cheesiest smile in return. He begins eating the rest of the M&M’s one by one, which Sokka always finds ridiculous, and they end up having a debate about the merits of eating candy a piece at a time the whole ride home. 

Though they’ve been living together for almost a year now, there are still things that Sokka does that surprise Zuko. They’re not all bad things, they’re mostly just... odd. Like how he can just eat candy by the handful. 

Or like the first time that Sokka had a day off from work, he hadn’t emerged from his room until nearly noon. When Zuko had told him that he’d started to worry that Sokka was sick, Sokka looked at him, confused. It had been quite adorable, what with his bedhead and all. But that wasn’t the point.   
“Well, why else would anybody be in bed past seven if they weren’t sick?” Zuko had asked, and the look on Sokka’s face went from confused to incredulous. 

“Because I wanted to sleep in?” 

Zuko couldn’t tell if he was joking. 

“Until noon?”

“Yes...?” 

They stared at each other, unsure what to make of the other’s reaction. 

“Why?” Zuko had started to wonder if Sokka was fucking with him, but the bewildered look on his face had made it apparent that Sokka was just as confused as he was. 

“Because I felt like it?” 

“You can do that?” Sokka had looked at him strangely for that, and Zuko still didn’t fully understand why -- it had been a legitimate question, but Sokka had acted as though Zuko was suddenly speaking in tongues. 

“Uhh, yeah, dude.” 

Zuko had peered at Sokka for several moments longer, before thoughtfully nodding as he considered the idea. 

“Oh,” he’d said after a long stretch of silence, “I didn’t know.” And he hadn’t. Having grown up with a rather strict daily routine that he’d been expected to follow to a T, Zuko had never had the opportunity to lounge about as Sokka seemed so used to doing. 

In truth, Zuko had tried sleeping in the next day that he’d had off from work, but his internal clock woke him at 6AM sharp, and Zuko decided that sleeping in was not for him. 

There’d also been the incident with the milk, where Zuko had come into the kitchen after his morning run to find Sokka drinking it right out of the carton. He’d just stared at him, unable to find his voice until Sokka finally stopped, milk still dribbled across his upper lip. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Having some milk.” 

“Out of the carton?” 

“Yeah.” 

“That seems a little gross.” 

Sokka looked at him fondly, despite the amused quirk of his brow.

“You literally ate me out last night, and I’ve tongue fucked you before. I didn’t think I needed to be worried about being  _ gross _ with you.” 

Zuko flushed and huffed indignantly. 

“I- That’s not-” 

Sokka was looking at him in a way that just said ‘You’re so cute when you get flustered like this’ as he held out the carton towards Zuko. 

“Did you want some ass milk?”

As much as Zuko had wanted to express just how vile that phrase sounded, he laughed instead, mostly in shock, but still unable to keep a smile off of his face. 

“Don’t call it- what the fuck is wrong with you?” he groaned, shaking his head. Sokka, it seemed, couldn’t stop laughing either. 

Suffice to say that Zuko found Sokka’s behavior to be perplexing, especially considering how Sokka was surprised at  _ Zuko _ , because he claimed that his behavior was “normal.” 

* * *

“I’m about to start making lunch.” Zuko warns when he sees Sokka walk away with a bowl full of popcorn. He’s planning on making them some hearty sandwiches, there’s no need for Sokka to ruin his appetite right now. 

“I know, this is just a snack,” Sokka assures him, “Do you want some?” 

Zuko frowns. 

“I’m about to start making lunch.” he says again. 

“I know,” Sokka says, softer this time, “But I’m hungry enough to eat this snack and lunch. I bet you are too.” Zuko considers it, and gives a conceding nod. 

“Yeah, I guess.” 

“Here, open your mouth.” Sokka backs up a few paces, holding a piece of popcorn at the ready. Zuko considers chastising him, but Sokka’s already posed to toss, tongue peeking out from his lips as he lines up his shot. It’s frankly impossible to not fall further head over heels for this man. 

He can’t quite believe that he’s going to humor Sokka like this, he really ought to just get to work on their lunch, but... 

He opens his mouth wide, chin tilted upwards for a surer shot. He sees Sokka toss the popcorn into the air, and the trajectory is a little off, but he’s able to lean over enough to catch it on his tongue. 

“Hell yeah!” Sokka cheers, the hand he’d used to throw, now a fist-pumping in the air victoriously. Zuko munches on his popcorn with a snicker at the over-the-top reaction, but when he’s swallowed, he opens his mouth again. 

“Hit me with another one.” he says, and watches as Sokka’s eyes light up, childlike in their excitement, and Zuko feels something in his chest soften, his affection for this man overwhelming him. The way that he can just find the joy in the simplest little things makes Zuko appreciate them that much more too. 

They end up making a bit of a mess in the kitchen with all the dropped popcorn that completely missed the mark, and Zuko puts a stop to it and hands Sokka a broom and dustpan, confiscating the rest of the popcorn. He finally gets started on lunch, and though it’s a little late, it somehow tastes better than usual. Perhaps it was all the laughter that preceded it. 

When he’s done with the dishes, Zuko sneaks a glance over at Sokka, who’s lounging on the sofa -- or rather, draped across it -- his head on one armrest, and his feet propped up on the other. Once he knows that Sokka is completely engrossed with whatever’s playing on TV, Zuko takes a moment to just look at him. The way he’s lying there, just completely at ease and defenseless... he looks so content. Happy, even. Zuko never would’ve been allowed to be on a sofa in such a haphazard manner had he been in his childhood home, so now to even consider doing anything but sit upright seems silly. But there’s Sokka, comfortable and at peace in  _ their _ home. 

They are adults, living in an adult home, living off their adult money, Sokka likes to remind him, and Zuko has to admit that the redundancy of the statement is important to him. 

He makes his way over, hoping not to disturb him, but as soon as Sokka sees him, he lifts his legs off of the sofa, pointing them up at the ceiling, and looks at Zuko expectantly. Zuko’s admittedly a little confused, but he takes a seat on the now-precariously-unoccupied side. As soon as he’s comfortable, Sokka’s legs come down slowly, until they’re back where they were, up against Zuko’s armrest, effectively locking Zuko into his seat, like some shitty roller coaster. He tells Sokka this, and Sokka’s laugh pulls one out of Zuko as well. 

A few days later, while Sokka’s at work, and Zuko’s finished with his to-do list for the day, he finds himself on the sofa again, a book in hand. He’s sitting like he usually does; off to the side of the sofa that’s closer to the light, with proper posture, but then a thought occurs to him. 

Slowly, as if not to disturb the cushions, he turns his body and brings his feet up onto the sofa. He lets himself slouch a little, and while he’s not quite in the same position as Sokka had been, he thinks he understands the appeal. It is rather relaxing. 

So relaxing, in fact, that as he reads, Zuko loses track of the time, and suddenly Sokka’s home, and out of habit, Zuko immediately straightens himself and turns back around to sit properly. As soon as he’s done it, he feels foolish for panicking. He can’t tell if Sokka noticed, so he pretends as though he’s continuing to read, though he seems to have lost his page when he scrambled to right himself. When Sokka comes over, he greets him with his usual kiss, and Zuko smiles, asks him how his day was, and Sokka tells him about it as he shrugs off his uniform before plopping down on the sofa next to him and turning on the TV. 

Just as Zuko thinks he’s in the clear, Sokka pats his lap. 

“Put your feet back up,” he says, and Zuko prays that the heat creeping up his neck isn’t obviously visible. He doesn’t exactly have anything to say to that, so he does as Sokka said, and though it takes a moment to get comfortable, he eventually relaxes into it. 

It’s nice. 


	2. Chapter 2

Sokka’s starting to see a pattern. 

Well, actually, he’s known for a while that Zuko’s way of doing things came from what he’d endured in his childhood. He knows that Zuko doesn’t like it when he makes a big deal about it, but it kind of is. From what Sokka understands, Zuko had no leeway to mess up or enjoy things or even just relax for a little bit, and it’s pretty obvious in the way he carries himself most of the time. He’s let his guard down a considerable amount since they moved in together, which is something that Sokka is incredibly grateful for, but he still thinks that Zuko could do with a little bit more spoiling. He’s always spoiling Sokka, after all. Sokka thinks that Zuko should be able to spoil himself too. 

And lately, Zuko seems to be just a little more inclined to try. So the next time they go shopping, Sokka makes it a point to try to get Zuko to pick out things  _ he wants _ and put them in the cart. He wants Zuko to indulge and be selfish because as much as he’s come to love how practical and organized Zuko is with his weekly shopping list and such, he’s gotta be able to live a little. It’s harder than he thought to get Zuko to admit to wanting things, though, so he decides to lead by example. 

“I want dino nuggies,” he whines, as Zuko reaches for the regular ones, and as expected, Zuko stops, looks at him, and sighs before reaching over for the dinosaur nuggets instead.    
“I don’t get why you like these, they’re literally the same.” 

“Uh, they’re  _ obviously  _ superior in both form and flavor,” Sokka says as if stating scientific facts while grinning from ear to ear. He hears Zuko snort and doesn’t miss the upturn at the corners of his lips. 

“They’re childish.” Zuko insists, though his tone is more amused than anything.    
“They’re  _ fun _ ,” Sokka corrects, “And therefore worth getting.” 

Zuko’s smile is broader this time, and Sokka can’t help himself -- he leans over and presses a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. Before Zuko can react though, Sokka spots the next item on their list and makes a beeline for it, leaving Zuko standing there, vaguely pink as he brings a hand up to his cheek where the kiss had landed. 

Sokka returns with a box of frozen waffles and a mischievous grin. 

“Web-ffles.” he says, as if that was a word that made sense. 

“What?”

“They’re waffles in the shape of webs, because Spiderman.” He points to the front of the box, where there is indeed a poorly rendered graphic of Spiderman above the words ‘Mixed Berry Marvel’ and Zuko stares blankly at him. 

There’s a long stretch of silence as the two of them just look at each other, before Zuko caves and chuckles, shaking his head.    
“Yeah, okay, put it in the cart,” he grunts, doing a terrible job of acting defeated and put off. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll be berry web-tastic,” Sokka wiggles his brows, “Just absolutely web-tacular. The berry best. Do you want me to stop? Is it getting...” He pauses dramatically. “Un-berry-ble?” 

Sokka knows he’s won when Zuko starts laughing in earnest and joins him. 

“You should pick something out for yourself too, since I’m getting all this extra stuff.” Sokka suggests nonchalantly once they stop laughing at jokes that weren’t that funny to begin with, and Zuko takes a moment to consider it, before nodding. Sokka is surprised that it was just that easy, but maybe -- just maybe -- Zuko’s starting to warm up to the idea of treating himself now and then. 

It takes a while for Zuko to come to a decision. He’s clearly thinking very hard about this, and Sokka kind of wants to explain that he should just let his heart choose, but he knows that Zuko isn’t very in touch with his wants, so he refrains from saying anything, and leaves it entirely up to Zuko. Besides, it’s endearing to watch him weave through the aisles, his brows pinched ever so slightly as he weighs his options. When he finally stops, they’re back in the frozen section, in front of tubs of ice cream. 

“Ice cream sounds good.” he says at last, and then takes his time picking out a flavor. When he finally turns back to Sokka, tub of ice cream in hand to show him which he’d picked, his smile completely takes Sokka’s breath away. He wishes that Zuko would let himself enjoy things for himself more often; he’d give anything to see this smile come out more often. 

Zuko’s smile comes out like the sun rising over the horizon, bathing him in warmth and light, and all Sokka wants to do is bask in it. He wants to see it every day, and kiss it good morning and good night. He wants to be the one to make the sun rise, especially on the days where the night keeps the light at bay and the darkness is too heavy to lift alone. He wants to do everything in his power to make sure that the sun keeps coming up.

It occurs to him that Zuko said something that he didn’t catch so he has to quickly backtrack. 

“Sorry, what?” he asks lamely over his still skipping heartbeat. 

“I said I want the ube one.” 

“Good choice, sounds good, yup.” Sokka manages. 

* * *

“Are you happy with your ice cream?” Sokka asks as they share a bowl of it. It’s nearly dinnertime, and Zuko thinks that he should feel at least a little guilty for indulging like this, but strangely enough, he doesn’t. Maybe it has to do with the fact that he’s starting to realize that he can,  _ just because _ , or maybe it has to do with the fact that it’s Sokka that showed him. 

He watches as Sokka takes a spoonful of their purple ice cream and the pleased hum that he makes as he bites into it makes Zuko smile to himself.

“Yeah, I am.” Zuko says, and truthfully, he means more than just the ice cream. All his years of self-imposed restraint seemed silly now, but it was also harder than he’d thought to just... pick out what he wanted. He was so used to ignoring temptations that just allowing himself to consciously want something felt new and exciting. 

“You’re allowed to want things, you know.” Sokka says gently, as if he’d read Zuko’s mind. 

He wants to tell Zuko that the rules he’d grown up with didn’t need to have a place in their home, and that he’s allowed to make his own happiness a priority now. But he knows that that’s something Zuko has to understand himself, and he also knows that it’s not something that he’ll be able to accept Sokka just telling him. So instead, he just reaches over and takes Zuko’s hands. “You deserve to be happy.” 

He sounds like he’s almost afraid that this’ll somehow be news to Zuko, and Zuko thinks that that might’ve been the case, had he been told this before he’d fallen for Sokka. But Sokka had shown him not just with his words, but his actions that he valued Zuko’s happiness as much as he valued his own. And as foreign as that concept might’ve been, Zuko’s learning to ease into it, and get comfortable. He likes it when Sokka’s happy, he reasons, so he supposes that Sokka would like him to be happy too. 

“You make me happy.” Zuko murmurs, not quite the response that Sokka had expected. “For a long time, I- I was taught that my success wasn’t contingent on my happiness, so I got used to putting it off. I thought that I didn’t need to be happy in order to achieve great things.” He swallows, looking at Sokka with a shy smile. “But you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Sokka, and you make me  _ so happy _ .” 

And there’s that beautiful sunrise again, and Sokka’s breath catches in his throat. 

_ Yeah _ , he thinks as he leans in to kiss it,  _ this is what happiness is _ . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really. really. love them. just,,,, so much..............


End file.
